Enoch faenswoeth



(No Model.)

B. PARNSWORTH. Gar Brake.

No. 243,117. Pate ntedJ'uneZLISSI.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ENOOH FARNSWQRTH, OF GRANT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO D. R. LEWIS, OF INDIANA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,117, dated June 21, 1881. Application filed March 16 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ENOOH FARNSWORTH,

a citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding at Grant, in the county of Indiana and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Oar-Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters or figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a bottom-plan view of a railway-car frame (the trucks not shown) provided with my improved automatic brake-releasing mechanism. Figs. .2 and 3 represent views of portions of m y'improvement.

Similar letters of reference in the several drawings denote similar parts.

Many and serious accidents to railway-trains, in many cases endangering life and limb, have 2 heretofore been caused by lack of means for instantly applying or releasing the brakes during the forward or backward movement of the train, and many inventions have been made to overcome the above-named defect; but, as a rule, such inventions have failed to wholly meet the desired object. This is especially true in cases where the cars comprising the train are provided with brakes having a spring or springs, whereby they are automatically applied to the truck-wheels when the forward strain is removed from the draw -heads, to which the brakes are connected.

The above-described form of brake is found to be practical when the direction of the train is at all times the same; but when, to avoid collision with other trains, or for any other cause, it is desired to back the train, it is necessary to release the truck-wheels from the pressure of the brakes by means of the ordinary 5 hand-wheel and spindle, which operation is of necessity very slow, involving, as it does, the manipulation of the hand-wheels and spindles upon each and all of the cars comprised in the train.

The object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide means whereby backward pressure upon the draw-heads, as well as forward strains, shall automatically and instantly release the wheels from the brakes, while, when no pressure is upon the draw-h eads, the brakes 5 5 will be kept by the spring in contact with the truckwheels; and, to the accomplishment of the above end, it consists in suitable levers, connectingrods, and springs, arranged and operating as hereinafter fully described.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the frame of an ordinary passenger or freight car; B B, the draw-heads, placed between the draft- 7 timbers A A, and provided with springs b b,

for counteracting shocks, and are further limited in their longitudinal movement by bolts to, that pass through the draw heads and enter suitable recesses in the draft-timbers.

I have in my drawings shown the above-described form of draw-head and attachments; but I do not wish to limit myself to this form alone, inasmuch as my brake-releasing mechanism can be used in connection with any and all draw-heads that have longitudinal motion.

To the under side, 0, of one of the cross beams 7 5 or timbers O is pivoted a lever, D, at rightangles to the longitudinalaxis of the draw head B. One arm, cl, of the lever D is somewhat longer than the opposite arm, 01, and enters a recess,

19, in the bar B, by reason of which, when the draw bar B is moved to and fro, the lever D will be caused to oscillate upon its fulcrum 61 as will be readily understood.

Attached to and extending from the points (1 upon each side of and equidistant from the 8 5 fulcrum d of the lever D, are connectingrodsd d which extend backward and are connected by short chains or links 61 to the outer arm,

6, of an equal-armed lever, E, pivoted ate in the bifurcated end f of a sliding rod, F, movo ing back and forth in guide staples or loops f, depending from the cross-timbers 0fthe carframe. The opposite arm, 0 is connected by a rod, link, or chain, 0 with one end, g, of a lever, G, pivoted to the cross-timbers of the 5 car-frame at a point near the center thereof, the purpose of the lever G being to operate the brake-levers, as will be hereinafter described.

Attached to and extending from a point, f

on the rod F are connecting rods or chains f f, which connect the said rod F to the outer and inner arms, h h, of a lever, H, pivoted at h to the cross-timbers of the car-frame. The longitudinal axis of the lever H is at right angles to the draw-head B, and one arm, h, of said lever is somewhat longer than the opposite arm, h, and extends into a recess, ]L3, in the drawhead B.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the draw-head B will, when drawn outward or pushed inward beyond certain limits, oscillate the lever H, and thus, through one or the other of the rods or chainsfFf, 0perate to draw backward the rod F, the result of which is to draw upon the arm 9 of the lever G, as will be hereinafter described.

Near the lever G, and attached to the crosstimbers of the frame, near the central part of the car, is a powerful spring, I, the free end i of which I connect by the rod or chain 5 with the arm g of the lever G.

Attached to'and extending from the armsgg (equidistant from the fulcrum 9 of the lever G are rods J J, the opposite ends of which rods are connected to the brake'levers. It will be seen by the drawings that the rod t" of the spring I is connected to the arm 9 of'thelever G at the same point to which the brake-lever connecting-rod J is attached, and inasmuch as the spring is upon the opposite side of the lever to which said rod is attached, it follows that the force exerted by the spring will draw the end of the lever around, and thus, through the rodsJJ, set the brakes against the wheels.

To insure the setting of the brakes upon the wheels in the event of the spring I becoming inoperative through breakage or any other cause, I provide one arm of the lever G, at a point, 9 with a rod or chain, 5 extending to an ordinary hand-wheel and spindle, K, by which the brakes may be operated. I also provide the outer arm, e, of the lever E with a rod or chain ,E, that extends to ahand-whecl and spindle, E upon the opposite end of the car, by which, in the event of the lever D or H becoming inoperative, or when it is desired to move the car by hand, the tension of the spring may be taken from the brake-lever, thus releasin g the brakes from the wheels.

The operation of my improved brake-releasing mechanism is as follows: When the car is at rest, either separate from or attached to other cars, the normal position of the levers D and H will be that of right angles, each with its respective draw-head, all tension of said levers upon the spring I will be withdrawn, and the full force of the said spring allowed to act upon the brakes through the lever G and rods J J, thus setting the brakes, as described. When the car is drawn forward the draw-heads will, by the strain upon them, be drawn outward, and, so carrying the arms (1 h of the levers D and H outward, will, through the connecting-rods f d and lever E, draw forward the arm 9 of the lever G, and thus release the brakes through the rods J J, as will be understood. In this connection it will be understood that the lever E will be drawn bodily backward by the rod f*. The opposite movement inward of the draw-heads, caused by backing the train, will operate to release the brakes in manner similar to that described above. In this case the rods df will operate the lever G.

From the above description it is plain that in the event of the cars breaking away from each other the draw-heads of the cars so broken away will resume their normal position, and thus set the brakes, and when the train is being again coupled together the pressure upon the draw-heads will instantly and automatically release the brakes.

What I claim is 1. In an automatic car-brake, the combination of the draw-heads B B, having recesses b h with the levers D and H, arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axes of the draw-head, and provided with eyes for the accommodation of connecting-rods upon each side of their respective fulcrums, whereby, in conjunction with said draw-heads, to operate the connecting-rods, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

2. In an automatic car-brake, the combination of a short rod, F, having the bifurcated end f, to afford a fulcrum for the equal-armed lever E, with the loops or staples f, depending from the car-frame, whereby the rod F is held and guided in longitudinal direction, substantially as described.

3. In an automatic car-brake, the combination of the equal-armed lever E with the lever D through the connecting-rods d d attached to the lever D upon each side of its fulcrum and equidistant therefrom, whereby when the said lever is oscillated upon its fulcrum the arm 0 of the lever E will be drawn forward or in the same direction, substantially as described.

4. In an automatic car-brake, the combination of the sliding rod F with the lever H through the connecting-rods f f attached to the lever H upon each side of its fulcrum h and equidistant therefrom, whereby when the said lever is oscillated upon its fulcrum the bar or rod F will be drawn in the same direction, substantially as described.

5. In an automatic car-brake, the combination of the draw-heads B B, having recesses b If, with unequal-armed levers D H, fulcrumed to the lower side of the sleepers or cross-timbers of the frame, and provided at each side of and equidistant from their respective fulcrums with suitable eyes or apertures for the accommodation of connecting rods or chains, the distance between the fulcrums of said levers D and H and the outer ends of IIO their arms (I and h exceeding the distance bechains 01 d andf f in combination with the unequal-armed levers D and H, said rods or chains extending from suitable eyes or apertures upon each side of and equidistant from the fulcrums of said levers D and H, the 0pposite' ends of each of said pairs of rods or chains 61 d and f f being connected at the same point to the lever E and rod F, respectively, whereby, when said levers D and H are oscillated upon their fulcrums, points 6 and f 2 on the lever E and rod F, respectively, will be caused to move in the same direction as regards the levers D and H, and in opposite directions as regards each other, substantially as described.

7. In an automatic car-brake, the combination of the rod F, held and guided in loopsf,

ENOOH FARNSWORTH.

Witnesses JOSEPH FORREST, J os. R. EnsoN. 

